2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Road Test and Review

2019 VW Golf Sportwagen front ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

One of Volkswagen’s best-kept secrets is the 2019 Golf SportWagen. Now in its fifth and final model year in the United States, the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen offers nearly as much interior space as the compact Tiguan SUV while delivering the driving experience of a Golf hatchback.

Like an SUV, the SportWagen is available with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, which Volkswagen calls 4Motion. But the SportWagen does not have the elevated seating position of an SUV, highly coveted by Americans, nor the extra 2.5 inches of ground clearance the Tiguan offers for those off-road treks most SUV owners never take. That said, you don’t have to grab onto something climbing into a Golf SportWagen, and it’s easy to park, weighs many hundreds of pounds less, and gets substantially better fuel economy than comparably sized SUVs.

It's a bargain.

Then, there’s price. As roomy, multipurpose European-brand vehicles go, the 2019 Golf SportWagen is a bargain. It costs many thousands of dollars less than like-sized SUVs with similar equipment. At $22,790 including the $895 destination charge, the base front-drive SportWagen S includes such niceties as a leather-wrapped tilt/telescope steering wheel, front-seat lumbar adjustment and power recliners, air conditioning with rear vents, carpeted floor mats, cruise control, power windows, door locks, and mirrors, a six-speaker AM/FM/HD radio stereo with Bluetooth and a 6.5-inch color infotainment touchscreen, 60/40 split-folding rear seat with center pass-through, a backup camera, 15-inch alloy wheels, and an electronic front differential lock. Adding 4Motion AWD to the SportWagen S brings heated seats and a larger engine, in total a modest $2,500 upcharge.

Upgrading to the $30,890 SE adds faux-leather seating instead of cloth, 17-inch alloys, an eight-speed automatic transmission, a panoramic sunroof, an 8-inch color touchscreen, a CD player, SiriusXM, LED auto headlamps, fog lights, keyless entry, a 115-volt rear seat outlet, heated front seats, push-button start, and a host of driver-assistance features including smart cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, automatic high-beams, and blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring.

Photo by Ron Sessions

Under the Hood

Now that diesels are gone from Volkswagen’s powertrain menu, the SportWagen’s engine lineup consists of a pair of gas-powered four-cylinder turbos tuned to run on less-expensive regular-grade fuel. Carrying over for 4Motion-equipped SportWagens is a direct-injected 1.8-liter TSI four-cylinder turbo producing 168 horsepower and 199 lb-ft of torque, teamed with a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed dual-clutch automatic. The 4Motion-equipped 1.8-liter is EPA-rated at 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway with the six-speed manual and 22 mpg city/29 mpg highway with the six-speed automatic.

New for 2019 is a 1.4-liter directed-injected four-cylinder turbo the Golf shares with the Jetta sedan. It’s used only in front-drive SportWagens and develops 147 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. Although Volkswagen claims it reaches its maximum torque output at just 1,400 rpm, it’s much livelier from 2,000 rpm upward. The 1.4T is teamed with a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic, the latter a better choice because the smaller steps between gears help keep the engine in a more responsive range. The 1.4T is EPA-rated at 29 mpg city/37 mpg highway with the six-speed manual and 27 mpg city/36 mpg highway with the eight-speed automatic.

Photo by Ron Sessions

Functional Layout

As with the Golf hatchback model it’s based on, the SportWagen presents a modern yet spare and functional layout. There is a fair amount of hard plastic trim, but what is there doesn’t look flimsy. The very legible white-on-black analog gauges are easy to read, and the rotary controls for headlamps, heating, and cooling are simple to use. The SportWagen even still has a manual handbrake.

Outward visibility is superb thanks to the low dashboard, thin windshield pillars, small front quarter windows, and pedestal side mirrors. Storage up front is decent as well with a good-sized glovebox, tilt-out coin- or cellphone holder on the lower dash to the left of the driver’s left knee, big bins in the doors, and two console bins — one in front of the shifter and the other under the padded center armrest. The front bucket seats are pretty basic, but they're comfortable and offer good support. One odd feature in the base S model is the manual fore/aft and seat height adjustments combined with a power seatback recliner.

Photo by Ron Sessions

Touchscreen Infotainment

The SportWagen comes standard with a Bluetooth-enabled six-speaker AM/FM/HD audio system with capacitive-touch color infotainment display with pinch and zoom capability. The S trim has a 6.5-inch unit while the SE has an 8-inch one with SiriusXM.

The head unit is easy to use on the go with large on-screen tiles as well as hard buttons and analog volume and tuning knobs at the edges. Both units are compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via the standard Car-Net App-Connect. The SE models add SMS text message capability as well as a six-month trial of Car-Net Security and Service, which lets drivers access the SportWagen remotely for services such as locking/unlocking, maintenance reminders, or young-driver curfews or other geofencing features via a cellphone or smartwatch; the service runs $199 annually after the free period.   

Photo by Ron Sessions

Backseat Functionality

The Golf SportWagen offers the same rear-seat roominess as the Golf hatchback with space for three adults.

The 60/40 split rear seat can be folded down in sections to accommodate both passengers and longer items. It also features a pass-through door in the middle of the rear seatback for such items as skis and long tripods.

Photo by Ron Sessions

Wagons Ho

Standing about a foot longer bumper to bumper than the Golf hatchback, the SportWagen offers generous, SUV-like stash space in the cargo bay for things such as sports equipment, a dog carrier or strollers. There’s a sport-utility-worthy 66.5 cubic feet of cargo room available with the 60/40 split rear seat folded down, facilitated with a pair of handy rear seatback releases along the sides of the cargo compartment near the rear hatch.

Even with the rear seat up, there’s 30.4 cubic feet of usable space — half again as much as you’d find in the trunk of a full-size sedan, and that’s not counting the bonus hidden space under the cargo floor (which, by the way, still carries a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench). You can flip the cargo floor up and stack grocery bags in the well where they won’t fall over, or close the lid and stash numerous computer bags, purses, camera bags, extra shoes, umbrellas, or what have you in there. A removable window-shade-like cargo cover is standard fare as well, keeping the hot sun and prying eyes off your precious cargo. Cool feature: You lift up the rear VW emblem to open the rear hatch.

Photo by Ron Sessions

How It Drives

The SportWagen is based on the seventh-generation Golf’s MQB architecture and uses a high percentage of weight-saving high-strength steel. This improves fuel economy and provides a solid platform for vehicle dynamics. Its major advantage compared to heavier, bulkier SUVs of the same overall size is its driving character, which is more akin to that of a roomy hatchback than a small SUV. Even though the SportWagen is assembled in Mexico, its German-tuned character is undeniable, from the well-weighted and precise electrically boosted rack and pinion steering and well-damped body motions to its secure highway stability, granitic body structure, and confidence-building, easy-to-modulate four-wheel disc brakes.

The 2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen brings an undeniably premium European character at a compact car price. And for you self-shifters out there (you know who you are), it’s one of the few small wagons left that still offers a stick-shift transmission.

Photo by Ron Sessions

Safety Content

While all 2019 SportWagens come standard with a full complement of airbags, a backup camera, an automatic post-collision braking system, and an intelligent crash response system, a newly available $450 Driver Assistance package on the base S model includes automatic emergency braking, plus blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alert systems.

The SE model has the driver assistance package content as standard fare and adds adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam control, and a lane-keeping system as standard.

Photo by Ron Sessions

An SUV Alternative

Although Volkswagen is making noises that it may replace the Golf SportWagen with an electrified vehicle in the not-too-distant future, right now this plucky VW is available for sedan or small hatchback drivers who are seeking more room but don’t necessarily want to jump to a larger, clunkier crossover or SUV.

Think of the Golf SportWagen as a cool, European-flavored choice for growing families who don’t want to sacrifice driving fun for a big, tall-riding box. And it comes with Volkswagen’s segment-leading six-year/72,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, which can be transferred to a second owner.

Photo by Ron Sessions